A fire broke out in Evin prison in the north of the Iranian capital, Tehran, over the weekend. The prison is notorious, and the appalling prison conditions have long been criticized by human rights organizations. The prison mainly contains political prisoners, demonstrators and intellectuals. The same people who have been protesting on Iranian streets since the death of Mahsa Jina Amini four weeks ago and have been arrested for it. The fire has since been extinguished, but at least four prisoners have died and more than 60 have been injured, according to the state news agency IRNA. The regime denies any connection to the protests.
The protesters are very aware that they are risking their lives, reports journalist Natalie Amiri in the 383rd episode of the podcast “important today”. Amiri has Iranian roots herself and headed the ARD studio in Tehran until 2020. To this day she maintains contacts in the country: “People are so fed up that they are now taking to the streets and saying: ‘We have nothing left to lose anyway. So we are risking our lives to maybe win something in the end .'”
Many of the videos circulating on social media are made when life is at risk. The regime has throttled the internet to limit contacts at home and abroad. That’s a lot of money at $1.5 million an hour, according to Amiri. In addition, more than 40 Iranian media workers have been detained since the protests began. The Weltspiegel moderator criticizes that it was these people who made the case of Mahsa Jina Amini known in the first place: “These journalists from Iran have no one to support them. And they simply disappear into the sinking of a cell .”
Despite all the danger, many people in Iran have been protesting for four weeks. In the beginning it was under the radar, but meanwhile there is also a lot of international attention and solidarity. Some of the statements have been criticized, such as the videos of German actresses who only cut a small strand of hair after weeks of protests. But that also goes down well, reports Natalie Amiri from her local sources: “People in Iran say: ‘Every single solidarity action brings us something, because we have nobody else. We are on our own and don’t have a president like Zelenskyj, who in speaking on behalf of the people. Our President is against us.'”
It is difficult to predict how long the protests will continue. But what makes them special is that, unlike in previous protests, people from all walks of life are on the streets, Amiri summarizes: “There are religious minorities on the streets, women who are applauded frantically by the men on the street because they take off her headscarf and burn it and dance in the street.” There are also people from all age groups, from Generation Z to the elderly: “They are ashamed of what they left their children. In this respect, there is enormous unity in Iran.”
It is precisely this unit that could pose a threat to the regime. Because many people in Iran want a secular state that dictates less to them: “People have nothing to lose anymore. That’s why they give everything. Including their lives.”
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